Yorkshire Family History

Find your Yorkshire ancestors, local history and details of their lives with these links to online family history and genealogy resources.

Archives

• Barnsley Archives
• Leeds Diocesan Archives
  As well as assisting in the present-day administration of the Diocese, the archives have long been a rich source of material for historians. A significant part of the collection pre-dates the creation of the Diocese of Leeds in 1878 and derives from the Diocese of Beverley (1850-78) and the earlier Northern and Yorkshire Districts (1688-1850). Anyone with an interest in the history of the Diocese or the development of the Catholic Church in the north of England over the past two hundred years will find much to interest them in the records held by the Leeds Diocesan Archives.
• West Yorkshire Archives
  The West Yorkshire Archive Service exists to preserve the local heritage of historical documents and to help members of the public make use of them. The Service has offices in Wakefield, Bradford, Calderdale (Halifax), Kirklees (Huddersfield), and Leeds. Anyone interested in the history of West Yorkshire, who would like to discover what records have survived, is welcome to visit or contact any of their offices.

Births, Marriages, Deaths and Parish Records

• Halifax BMD 1832-1921
  You can view Halifax birth, marriage and death records 1832-1921 for free. The records are taken from the Halifax Guardian newspaper and are available in PDF files.
• Yorkshire BMD
  Yorkshire Births, Marriages & Deaths aims to give free access to all the BMDs registered in Yorkshire’s registration offices since records began in 1837. The site is updated with new records very often.
• Yorkshire Parish Records

Burials & Cemeteries

• Leeds Burials 1895-1921 & Doncaster Cemetery Burials 1856-1937
• Leeds Cremations 1938-1969
• Leeds General Cemetery Burials
  The Leeds General Cemetery Burial Index is a searchable database of all burials from 1835-1992.
  There are also a few different ways of viewing and sorting the data; you can browse by surname, cause of death or occupation. In addition, you can also browse by father’s surname or mother’s surname.
• Wakefield Burial Records
  You can search and view Wakefield burial records for free. There are many cemeteries from the Wakefield area included. You can search by cemetery or name.

Wakefield cemeteries included:

• Altofts 2000-present
• Alverthorpe 1955-present
• Castleford (All Cemeteries) 1979-present
• Castleford (New Extension) 1929-present
• Castleford (New) 1884-present
• Castleford (Old) 1857-present
• Crigglestone 1882-present
• Featherstone 1905-present
• Ferrybridge 1924-present
• Hemsworth 1896-present
• Horbury 1897-present
• Knottingley 1883-present
• Normanton 1876-present
• Outwood 1873-present
• Pontefract 1859-present
• Stanley 1886-present
• Wakefield 1859-present

Census Records

• Census 1841-1921
  Search the census records from 1841-1921, plus the 1939 Register all at once.
• FreeCen
  Has a good, but not complete, selection of free records to search and view.

Criminals and Convicts

• Criminal Ancestor Records
• York Assizes 1785-1851
  York Assizes 1785 – 1851 is an index of over 8,000 names divided into alphabetical sections. A great source for early criminal ancestors.
• Criminal Chronology of York Castle
  A register of those convicted and executed from 1379 to 1868.
• City of York Calendar of Prisoners 1739-1851
  Nearly 25,000 records of criminals, their crime, victims, sentence and sometimes occupation.

Electoral Registers

• City of York Electoral Registers 1848-1938
  Explore nearly 1.8 million records that give you a name, place, district and address for your ancestors.
• Yorkshire Electoral Registers 1832-1932

Forums

• RootsChat East Yorkshire
• RootsChat North Yorkshire
• RootsChat West Yorkshire

Historical Directories

• Yorkshire Historical Directories
• City of York Trade Directories 1781-1955
  Find out information about what your ancestors did for a living and where they traded.
• Rotherham Directory 1845
  Names, addresses and occupation.

Local History

• Domesday Book East Riding
• Domesday Book North Riding
• Domesday Book West Riding
• GENUKI Yorkshire
  GENUKI Yorkshire is a free family history & genealogy resource which lists links and resources for the English county of Yorkshire.
• Hunslet Remembered
  Hunslet Remembered celebrates the Hunslet we knew up to the 1970s. Using maps, photos and words, it reminds us what life was like. However, it’s just a start, a way of stirring your memories.
• Wakefield Family History Sharing
  The Wakefield Family History Sharing has a great deal of information and resources for researching your ancestors and local history in Wakefield. Some of the resources available are: strays, old photos, some census records, some parish records and more.
• Yorkshire Gazetteer 1828
  Details of cities, towns and villages, including the history and population.

Maps

• John Speed’s Proof Map of Yorkshire – Made between 1603 and 1611
• Old Yorkshire Maps

Military Records

• British Military Records
• Doncaster 1914-1918
  Doncaster 1914-1918 is the place to read and/or add stories from WWI. You can view WWI people, places, subjects and timelines.
  The project encourages Doncaster people and those with connections to the area to research and share their own First World War stories.
• Leeds Absent War Voters
  There was a General Election in 1918 and all those away from their place of residence, including all men in the army, were listed on Leeds Absent Voters Lists. These usually recorded the man’s regiment, number and rank at the time.
  Men had to be over 21 years of age to vote. Please note that men were not given a unique regimental number until 1920, it is therefore possible to find two men with the same number but in different regiments. This database only lists those with a home address in the Leeds area.
• West Yorkshire Regiment
• West Yorkshire Regiment in the Great War
• The Yorkshire Regiment – First World War Remembrance
• Yorkshire Roll of Honour

Occupations

• Hull Lost Trawlermen
  This list (in PDF format) lists Hull-born fishermen and those serving on Hull-registered vessels who were lost at sea from the 1860s up to 2000.
• Lost Pubs of Yorkshire
• Miners of Silverwood
  Dedicated to the miners of Silverwood in South Yorkshire, the site contains an A-Z list of miners who worked at the mine between 1900-1994.
  You’ll also find a lot of extra information related to the history of the mine and the people who worked there.
• York Apprentices
  See if your ancestor was an apprentice or freeman in the city of York.

Photos and Postcards

• Leeds and Bradford Photographic Studios
  The history of the studios and the photographers with some examples of their work.
• LEODIS
  A photographic archive of Leeds and the  surrounding area with almost 60,000 old and new images.
• Kirklees Image Archive
  The Kirklees Image Archive comprses of old and historical photographs and images of the three large towns of Huddersfield, Dewsbury and Batley, as well as several smaller towns such as Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, Mirfield, Meltham and Holmfirth.
• Picture Sheffield

School Records

• Mirfield Schoolchildren 1953
  Mirfield school registers for the first term of 1953
• School Admission Registers 1870-1914
  Discover your ancestors who attended or were teachers in schools between 1862 and 1959. These records cover 63 schools in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Societies and Groups

• Bradford Family History Society
• Doncaster & District FHS
  Great website if you are researching relatives in and around Doncaster (South Yorkshire, England), although the Society’s records are not limited to Doncaster.
• East Yorkshire Family History Society
• Huddersfield FHS
• Wakefield & District FHS
  The objective of the Wakefield & District Family History Society is to advance public education in Family History and Genealogy for the benefit of anyone living in the area of the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council or with interests or family in that area. There are some publications and tithe maps of the local area on the website.
• York Family History Society

Surnames

• Pulleyns of Yorkshire
• Yorkshire Surname List
  The Yorkshire Surname List has almost 25,000 names listed in alphabetical order. It’s also possible to submit your surname to the list.

War Memorials

• Cenotaphs in the Wakefield Area

Wills and Probate

• Barnsley Will & Probate Index
• Rotherham Wills & Probate
• York Peculiars Probate Index, 1383-1883

Inquisitions Post Mortem

An Inquisition post mortem is an English medieval record of the death, estate and heir of one of the king’s tenants-in-chief, made for royal fiscal purposes. The process of making such inquisition was effected by the royal escheators in each county where the deceased held land.

• Yorkshire Inquisitions 1241-1283
• Yorkshire Inquisitions 1283-1295
• Yorkshire Inquisitions 1399-1422

About Yorkshire

Until 1974, Yorkshire was separated into three “Ridings”. The East Riding, the West Riding and the North Riding. Today, Yorkshire is divided into four regions: East Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and North Yorkshire.
This page includes resources and information for Yorkshire as a whole.